What To Expect in the Markets This Week

Investors will be watching several highly-anticipated economic reports this week, with the Friday release of the September jobs report expected to offer key data as the Federal Reserve focuses on the labor market. Meanwhile, a raft of major earnings from Big Tech companies, restaurant chains and pharma giants are on tap.

This week will see the Thursday release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation report and the first release of third-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on Wednesday. 

Earnings this week include reports from Alphabet (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN). Energy producers ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and BP (BP) are also on the calendar. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) will report its first results since Brian Niccol left the CEO post, while Starbucks (SBUX) will report its first since it he joined the coffee chain.

Market watchers will get several pieces of housing data, as well as updated surveys on manufacturing activity. Fed speakers are in a blackout period ahead of their meeting next week.

Monday, October 28

• Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey (October)
• Ford Motor (F) and Onsemi (ON) report earnings

Tuesday, October 29

• Advance retail inventories (September)
• Advance wholesale inventories (September)
• Advance International trade deficit (September)
• S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index (August)
• FHFA House Price Index (August)
• Job openings (September)
• Consumer confidence (October)
• Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Visa (V), Novartis (NVS), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), McDonald’s (MCD), Pfizer (PFE),, Chipotle (CMG), British Petroleum (BP), PayPal Holdings (PYPL), and Waste Management (WM)report earnings

Wednesday, October 30

• ADP employment report (October)
• Gross Domestic Product – first estimate (Third Quarter)
• Pending home sales (September)
• Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), Eli Lilly (LLY), AbbVie (ABBV), Caterpillar (CAT), Amgen (AMGN), Booking Holdings (BKNG) and Starbucks (SBUX) report earnings

Thursday, October 31

• Initial jobless claims (Week ended Oct. 19)
• Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index (September)
• Apple, Amazon, Mastercard (MA), Merck (MRK), Anheuser-Busch (BUD), Uber (UBER), Comcast (CMCSA), ConocoPhillips (COP), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), and Intel (INTC) report earnings

Friday, November 1

• U.S. employment report (October)
• S&P Global manufacturing PMI (October)
• ISM manufacturing PMI (October)
• Construction spending (September)
• ExxonMobil and Chevron report earnings

September Jobs Report, PCE Inflation, GDP Among Anticipated Economic Releases This Week

Market watchers will have several important economic indicators to follow this week, including a highly-anticipated jobs report, updated inflation data, the first look at third-quarter GDP, and housing and manufacturing data. 

Investors will be examining the September jobs report on Friday, which comes as Fed officials have said they are closely following the labor market for signs of weakness after a strong performance in September. The key data point comes ahead of the central bank’s meeting on Nov. 6-7, where it could again lower interest rates. A weaker-than-expected labor report could prompt Fed officials to make steeper cuts than investors are anticipating. Reports on private-sector hiring and job openings earlier in the week could also influence markets. 

The Thursday release of the PCE inflation report will show whether inflation continued to trend lower in September. Some Fed officials have said they are cautious about lowering rates too quickly before seeing inflation reach the Fed’s target of 2%.

The Wednesday release of the first estimate of third-quarter GDP is another key piece of economic data. Several pieces of housing data are on tap, including pending home sales and updated housing price indexes, while manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surveys will shine a light on the performance of that sector. 

Federal Reserve officials will be in a blackout period this week ahead of the November meeting. 

Big Tech, Big Oil and Big Pharma Highlight Earnings Calendar

Investors will get noteworthy earnings throughout the week, with reports from Big Tech, Big Oil and Big Pharma on the calendar, as well as quarterly updates from financial firms and restaurant chains.

Google-parent Alphabet will report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, following a second-quarter report that beat expectations, as the search engine provider looks to continue to capitalize on its artificial intelligence (AI) investments. 

In its report on Wednesday, Microsoft looks to show results from its promotion of AI features, like the newly-launched autonomous AI agents for its Copilot assistant software. Meta Platforms also reports on Wednesday, when the Facebook-parent is expected to provide updates on its AI products, like its Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses. 

Thursday’s report from Apple comes as the tech titan recently touched a record high and unveiled its latest iPad Mini, which will feature the same AI features that are featured on the iPhone 16.  

Amazon’s third-quarter report, on the same day, follows a revenue forecast for the quarter that was lower than investors expected. The online retailer reported record sales at its recent October two-day Prime Big Deals Days event. 

Pharmaceutical firms will also grab attention, with Eli Lilly, AbbVie, Pfizer, Merck,  Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb among the drugmakers scheduled to report financials this week. Several top oil producers will also release financial updates, with Friday featuring earnings from ExxonMobil and Chevron, while BP and ConocoPhillips reporting earlier in the week.

Reports this week from credit card issuers Mastercard and Visa could provide insight into the health of U.S. consumers.